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Trumps to Black Voters, What Have You Got to Lose?; Interview with Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine; Brother of Little Boy From Aleppo Dies From Injuries; Trump Campaign Discussed; Update on Louisiana Flooding; IOC to Investigate Lochte Incident; Oklahoma Police Assist Autistic Child's Birthday Party. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired August 20, 2016 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:00:30] MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. Thanks for joining me. I'm Martin Savage in for Fredricka Whitfield . It's great to be with you.

Donald Trump is making a new campaign promise. He's renewing his effort to reach out to minority voters. And he told a crowd in Dimondale, Michigan, that he will win 95 percent of the African- American vote once he's reelected in 2020. He also addressed black voters directly, asking for their support like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I say it again, what do you have to lose? Look. What do you have to lose? You're living in poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58 percent of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to lose?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: And right now Trump is meeting with his national Hispanic advisory council and the RNC. This outreach effort comes on the heels of a major campaign overall. Chairman Paul Manafort is out. Breitbart News executive Steve Bannon is in and we may already be seeing signs of a changed campaign strategy.

CNN's Chris Frates is following the story from Washington.

Chris, good to see you. First, it didn't seem there were that many minorities in that crowd. And I'm wondering where are minorities when it comes to polling for Trump?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, you're exactly there, Martin. There weren't many minorities in that crowd. In fact when Trump argued that Hillary Clinton is taking black voters for granted he did it in front of what was a mostly white crowd in predominantly white Michigan suburb. And that's also where Trump promised that if he were to run-for reelection at the end of his first term he'd win 95 percent of the black vote.

Now look, that's a huge -- not just a tall, a huge order considering that President Obama, the nation's first black president, only won 93 percent of the black wrote vote in his reelection four years ago. And it's a particularly tough lift for Donald Trump, particularly considering where Trump is starting from.

Let's take a look at this recent NBC/"Wall Street Journal" poll and it shows that Trump's support among African-Americans, there it is right there, just 1 percent. Clinton meanwhile, she's got the support of 91 percent of the black community.

And Clinton's campaign wasted no time answering Trump's question of what the hell do blacks have to lose by voting for him? They said in a statement, quote, "Donald Trump asks the African-American community what they have to lose by voting for him. The answer is everything. From a man who questions the citizenship of the first African-American president, courts white supremacists and has been sued for housing discrimination against communities of color. Trump painting the entire community as living in poverty with no jobs continues to show he is completely out of touch with the African-American community."

So the Clinton campaign not mincing any words there, and Martin, we'll have to wait and see if, you know, Trump's recent outreach, if these kind of remarks, these kind of overtures are going to make any difference in the polls either up or down -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: And you can bet that a lot of people are going to be watching that.

Chris Frates, thank you very much.

FRATES: You're welcome.

SAVIDGE: All right. Let's talk some more about this. And we're going to do that with Taryn Rosenkranz, she is a Democratic strategist and a Hillary Clinton supporter, and CNN political commentator John Philips, he backs Trump.

And John, let me start with you. You know, we saw the list of problems that Donald Trump has projected and said exist within the African-American community. He may not have offered too many solutions and you know, he made a rather indirect plea of what the hell have you got to lose. Is this really going to work when making an outreach to this kind of community?

JOHN PHILIPS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, I think he should be doing it because the fact of the matter is that America's big cities have been under one party rule for decades now. And they are a complete and total disaster. Baltimore has seen race riots. Every single weekend you see people murdered in Chicago --

SAVIDGE: Well, let me stop you there. I get the argument. I think the point could be valid. But the slogan of just what the hell have you got to lose is not a step by step breakdown of how life could be better with me in the office.

PHILIPS: Anyone living under one party rule is being taken advantage of by their government. When two parties are going after your vote, you have a much better chance of getting good government. When it's only one party and that party assumes that they own your vote, you're not getting good government. As we've seen -- (CROSSTALK)

SAVIDGE: I agree with that. What are the specifics? What are the specifics he's making to appeal to an African-American community?

[13:05:01] PHILIPS: Well, let's start with chatter schools. Right now the big city school districts are a dismal failure. In most of the big cities in this country Hillary Clinton is supported by the teachers' unions and they don't want charter schools, they don't want vouchers, they don't want anything that would bring competition to these cities. And if your kid gets a horrible education and you start that at the elementary level, then they're behind the 8 Ball for the rest of their lives. So I think that's something that's very important to a lot of these voters.

SAVIDGE: OK. We'll take it. Thank you.

Taryn, Trump was looking I think rather presidential in another aspect, and that was he showed up there in Baton Rouge and they are dealing with a horrific flooding problem there. He brought an 18- wheeler of flood relief supplies. I'm sure they're welcomed.

I'm wondering, should the Clinton campaign worry that they were not there and they were not showing that they too are concerned about this huge problem in a large population?

TARYN ROSENKRANZ, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I think within 24 hours of this moment for him from the campaign where he was looking a little bit more presidential like, you know he really -- he blew it once again. This was not -- these comments to the African-American community were not teleprompter Trump. They weren't what we thought would be this Trump -- I think we're on 7.0 this time with the shakeup of the campaign.

You know, he could have like sort of taken this moment to reboot the campaign, sort of rise to the occasion, and instead he's making these like staggeringly ignorant comments to the African-American community. He's not talking about policies. I mean, it's great that John is sort of articulating for him his policies but that's not something Trump has been talking about. That's not what he was talking about as his pitch to the African-American community.

It was more of the same of him just sort of shouting out whatever he felt and that all just really shows that he's just fundamentally unfit to be our commander-in-chief.

SAVIDGE: John, there is some truth in the fact of what she has just said that there are legitimate concerns about a campaign of Hillary Clinton and yet every time they seem to come to the fore Donald Trump steps on his own message, it's all pushed in the background, and we're all focused on what Donald Trump had to say. And the case in point is now what he's doing, reaching out into perhaps an electorate that is not really likely for him.

PHILIPS: I heard him talk about charter schools. I heard him talk about how trade has shift jobs in the rustbelt to different countries and how that's affected and impacted those communities. I heard him talk about crime. I heard him talk about the need for law and order to keep --

(CROSSTALK)

SAVIDGE: But you are not the audience he was allegedly reaching to.

PHILIPS: Those are very important. I'm sorry?

SAVIDGE: You're not that audience he was reaching to.

PHILIPS: No. But I think that speaks to people in Michigan, that speak to people in those big cities in the rustbelt states. So that's -- you know, that's something that directly impacts their lives that's being neglected currently by their government and by the Democratic political machine. And Hillary Clinton is that machine candidate.

SAVIDGE: All right. Taryn, Trump continues to call this election rigged and there's a new Pew Poll that says only 11 percent of Trump supporters think that their votes across this country will be accurately counted in the election. So, you know, that's compared to 49 percent of Clinton supporters. That's a real problem, especially --

ROSENKRANZ: Right.

SAVIDGE: Well, depending on the outcome. But go ahead, give me your thoughts on that.

ROSENKRANZ: Well, I think it's interesting. I mean, ever since everything that happened in the year 2000, I think voters' distrust of the system is high, you know. And we need to do more I think just across the board on both sides of the party and both parties to kind of make sure that that is not what's coming across, that people do understand that there is a fair election system. I mean, that's part of the core of our democracy. Right? So I do think there's work literally on both sides that we need to do to make sure that voters trust and know.

I mean we just see in some of these states, too, and some of the state legislatures over the past few years some of these laws that they've been trying to pass that people feel are restricting votes. I mean, there's a lot happening on the ground that, you know, really chips away at voting rights. And so as a community I hope that we all just kind of make sure that this is our main focus as we're going into these final days.

SAVIDGE: All right. We're going to leave it there. Taryn Rosenkranz, John Philips, thank you both for joining me.

We will be talking more about Donald Trump. Next hour we will discuss his comments and what he's doing to appeal to minorities. And that conversation is going to be with Dr. Ben Carson. And he of course is the former presidential candidate. He'll join us at 2:00 p.m. That's Eastern Time. On another subject, the CDC is sounding the alarm on Zika. The

department is telling pregnant women not to travel now to Miami Beach. That's because local transmission has been confirmed. The mayor of Miami Beach is our guest next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:12:42] SAVIDGE: Warning to pregnant women planning to travel to Miami. The CDC says don't go. Stay away. This after health officials report new cases of non-travel related Zika virus in Florida. The total of the locally transmitted virus is now said to be 36. And the areas of concern are spreading. This week new cases of the virus were traced to a popular tourist destination, a mile and a half stretch of Miami Beach.

So I want to bring in now the mayor of Miami Beach, and that's Phillip Levine.

And, Mayor, thank you very much for joining us. Let me start by asking, what's the current situation in your city? How many cases are confirmed and what is it you want people to know?

MAYOR PHILIP LEVINE (D), MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA: Well, Martin, first of all, I'm out here on Miami Beach right on Ocean Drive. You can see it's packed. And a lot of people out having fun. But what we have right now is five confirmed cases in a very small section of Miami Beach, 8th Street to 28th Street, that we just found out about yesterday when the governor finally released the information for everybody to have. But most importantly, there is no travel specifically warning saying don't come. There is a travel advisory specifically for this section for pregnant women.

And as you can see, the beach is pretty packed. And so -- but of course we're doing everything we can right now to get that warning removed by taking up water, making sure there's less breeding of mosquitoes, working with our county partner and we're making sure that there's as little or no mosquitoes as possible. The last thing I'd want to be on Miami Beach today is a mosquito. That's for sure.

SAVIDGE: And I know that the "Miami Herald" is reporting that on Thursday you stepped in front of the cameras and said there had been no confirmation of new cases in Miami Beach. A day later the governor announced that there were five cases confirmed there. I'm not calling you out about what you said. What I want to know is, are you receiving the proper information from the right sources --

LEVINE: Right.

SAVIDGE: -- at the right time?

LEVINE: Martin, that's a great question and unfortunately the answer is no. On Thursday evening all we got from the Department of Health in the state of Florida, which is controlled by the governor, is that there's two unconfirmed cases that may relate to Miami Beach. That's all the information I could give because the governor would not give us any information. On Friday, the governor unfortunately playing politics with this

horrible issue, went out there, gave a press interview, told everyone including the elected leaders at the first time that there are five cases and we just hope the governor will stop playing politics because they're very serious issue.

[13:15:08] I'm the mayor, I need the information. The county mayor needs the information. So it's a sad situation and we're hoping that he will stop playing politics. This issue is very serious. We need the information timely. We can only give the people and the media the information that we get from the state.

SAVIDGE: All right. Point taken on your concern about politics and their involvement here. What about the issue of tourist dollars? It could be said that you are downplaying the seriousness because you're concerned about the impact financially on your community.

LEVINE: Well, Martin, there's no mystery of the fact that our number one industry in Miami Beach is tourism, and that's our strongest business. This summer it's record tourism.

Now clearly, you know, having a few cases of Zika is not good for anyone's economy. But the most important thing besides business and besides tourism is the health and safety of our residents and our tourists. That's what I'm focused on. That's what our city is focused on, educating our residents, educating our tourists, getting all the water up and making sure people wear anti-mosquito repellant. That's -- that's priority number one right now.

SAVIDGE: What about spraying and application of pesticide? Are you doing that as well?

LEVINE: Yes. So the country of -- Dade County actually does the spraying, going to localized areas between 8th and 28th Street. Remember it's a very small area. But we're also been doing this since January. We have been very progressive on this. Since January we've been making sure there's no standing water. We are getting rid of certain plants and foliage where mosquito possibly could breed.

In June we amped up the operation and in the last week or two and of course the last two days we're aggressively going after -- this morning I was out there myself helping with a machine that disperses water and sucks up water. So everyone has to get involved and this community is a very active community and a very intelligent community. So everyone is coming together.

SAVIDGE: I was down in Miami, not Miami Beach unfortunately, but Miami just two weeks ago. I did find that people seemed to be out and about and a lot of people are not overly concerned. It seems to be a very significant population, small, pregnant women that are.

LEVINE: Yes. I mean, Martin, of course, you know, there's not a panic going on here by any means. You can see there's people going by, you got a skateboarder. I mean, there's a lot happening. People love Miami Beach. But we cannot downplay this. We must focus on this, we must eradicate this. And I know if we work together and we get our governor to work with us, we can get this done. And that's what we're doing right now.

SAVIDGE: Mayor Philip Levine, thank you very much for joining us. Good luck to your city in getting this under control. We appreciate your insights.

LEVINE: Thank you. Thank you, Martin.

SAVIDGE: Meanwhile it's the image that shook the world to its very core this week. If you saw it, you know what I'm talking about. You're looking at it now.

How this picture has become the new symbol of the ongoing suffering in Syria. We'll talk about it after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:21:43] SAVIDGE: You know if you've never been in a war, it is very difficult to explain or in any way communicate what it is like. But every now and then there are images that can go a long way to doing that. And what we have for you right now is one of those, and you've probably already seen it. It's become a symbol for the war in Syria.

A young boy in this video, his name Omran, had survived an airstrike in the city of Aleppo, which had been devastated by the conflict that's ongoing. Well, we've now received word that his 10-year-old brother has died from injuries sustained in that same airstrike.

Joining us now on the phone with more is CNN international correspondent Jomana Karadsheh.

Jomana, what more do we know?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Well, Martin, according to an official from the Aleppo Media Center, this is an opposition body that was set up in Aleppo. He informed us that Ali Daqneesh, the 10-year-old brother of Omran, died at 9:00 a.m. local time in Aleppo as a result of injuries sustained in that airstrikes.

For the past three days the official said that 10-year-old Ali was in critical condition and he was receiving medical care but he did succumb to his wounds earlier today. The mother of the boys is still in critical condition, she is still receiving medical care, and the family remains in Aleppo. But they are refusing to speak to the media as one would expect at a time like this. The family is extremely impacted by what they have been through.

And, Martin, if you talk to the activists and aid workers, they tell you that this family's pain and suffering is really a reflection of the situation on the ground. This is the suffering, the pain of so many families who have gone through this in Syria and in Aleppo specifically where we have seen this rise in violence over recent weeks. And if you look at the figure, really staggering figure, 4500 children have been killed in Aleppo province alone since the start of that uprising in 2011 and the civil war that followed that. And today we're hearing more reports, Martin, not just Ali Daqneesh,

the 10-year-old brother of Omran, who has passed away, but also reports from activists that a number of other children have also been killed in further airstrikes today in what is being described now, this fight for Aleppo, described by aid officials as the most devastating -- one of the most devastating conflicts in modern times -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: Jomana Karadsheh, thank you very much for that, although the news is horrific.

I want to bring in Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, CNN military analyst and a former U.S. military attache to Syria.

And, Colonel, sort of getting back to what I was talking about, those who are in the military tragically are exposed to these kind of images and often we don't talk about them afterwards. I'm wondering, the impact now, this has been seen around the world. You can't help but be moved.

From a military perspective and what you know of history, could this actually change us and bring about a way to end this war or is it just going to be another painful reminder that war is bad?

[13:25:09] LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Martin, I have to tell you, I hope for the former, but I believe the latter is probably going to be what happens. Remember the horrific image that we saw of the young child that was drowned on the beach trying to escape Europe? What we have is a similar situation and this will be in the press and it will touch our hearts for week to come but it will not change the situation. As devastating as that image is, we still see continued air strikes every day.

The battle on the ground in Aleppo is ongoing as we speak. The situation is not getting better, it is getting worse. We see the conflicts spreading out into areas that were not involved in actual combat. We see fighting in the north eastern part of Syria now. We see the Syrian air force starting to bomb over there. The Russians continue a massive air campaign. Yesterday they added cruise missile to the mix all going into Aleppo, all into the same area. So unfortunately this image, although it tugs at our heart, has had no real impact on the fighting on the ground.

SAVIDGE: And we know that, you know, we have focused on the fighting but really this is something that has to be settled through negotiation. It is something that's settled through artillery and gunfire.

FRANCONA: What's happening is -- all of the players are involved are angling for a seat at the table or a more important seat at the table, more influence. And we see this power play between the Iranians, the Turks, the Russians, the Americans, everybody wants to have a say in what happens in the future of Syria. Everybody knows that there's going to have to be some sort of diplomatic solution, some sort of state craft that fixes all of this. But to get there everybody has to feel comfortable that they're going to be represented and everybody is fighting for that so that they make sure their position is protected. Everybody has a stake in this and they want to make sure that their side prevails in the end.

SAVIDGE: There is a -- perhaps a short-term benefit, I suppose. The Russians are now saying that they might go along with a kind of weekly 48 hours cessation of bombing to allow either evacuation or medical aid to get in. Do you think that's likely?

FRANCONA: Well, we've seen the Russians make these kind of offers before. They started off with three hours a day. And that didn't work. It's just not long enough. 48 hours would be beneficial if it's in fact true. But we see these offers all the time and nothing happens because neither side trusts the other enough to take real advantage of these truces. They take -- they just move military things, they resupply their forces. So it sounds good. I don't put much hope in it. I think what we're going to see is the continuation of the devastation that we've seen over the past several weeks.

SAVIDGE: And quickly, the Russians have started using Iran as a launching pad for some of their aircraft. And I'm wondering, what do you make of that and why would Iran go along?

FRANCONA: Well, Iran would go along because they think that the situation in Aleppo is not going their way and they want the Russian to increase the air power that they're using. And using that base in Iran really does that because it shortens the flight time and allows you increased bomb loads. So the Iranians are doing this for Iran's benefit. Not for Russians.

The Russians are taking advantage of that because, you know, just for air operations, it makes more sense. It's very similar to our using Incirlik in Turkey. It allows us to get to the target quicker and carrying more bomb loads. Militarily makes sense for the Iranians, a political decision that works for them.

SAVIDGE: And, you know, this is likely to put pressure on the Obama administration to accept far more refugees not just from Syria but from around the world. Do you agree with that?

FRANCONA: Probably. And I don't know what the answer will be there. But we are being marginalized in what's going on in Syria. The Russians, Iranians and the Turks have really made plays to be the key power broker there and we see -- at our expense. So I think as they increase their operations there, we're becoming more and more marginalized. And as we talked about, that future diplomatic solution, we have got to have input into what's going on so we have to be involved.

SAVIDGE: Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, thank you very much for joining us.

FRANCONA: Good to be with you, Martin.

SAVIDGE: Coming up, Trump and the fate of the GOP. Why some Republicans are calling on the RNC to rip its funding from the campaign to protect the party's future of the House and Senate. We'll go into that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:32:50]

SAVIDGE: Hello, thanks for joining me. I'm Martin Savidge in for Fredricka Whitfield.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Donald Trump's falling polling numbers. They are fuelling GOP concerns that the Presidential candidate could hurt Republicans in tight congressional races. And with just 80 days until the election some members of the GOP have called on the RNC to hold funds and resources from Trump and re-allocate them in an effort to keep control of the House and Senate.

So, sounds like a great point to talk about and we will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: With our political panel, that's Taryn Rosenkranz a Democratic strategist and a Hillary Clinton supporter. And then John Phillips is a CNN Political Commentator and a Trump supporter.

So John, I'll start with you. How vulnerable do you see what they're calling down ballot Republicans if the polling numbers continue to fall for Donald Trump? How bad off are they?

JOHN PHILLIPS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well I don't think they're continuing to fall, he's down by 6 in the real clear politics averages. Of the three polls that were released on Friday he is closer than that.

So I think they're certainly running ahead of him in many of these states. But you look at Nevada, they're tied there, that would be a Republican pickup in the effort to replace Harry Reid. You look at Ohio which is a hot seat -

SAVIDGE: So you're saying there is not a concern then about these down ticket Republicans?

PHILLIPS: No I think there certainly is a concern but as I said they're running ahead of him. So as his numbers stabilize which is what we saw on Friday, the numbers were getting better not worse, they're going to do just fine in those races.

SAVIDGE: OK. Taryn, can the Democrats retake the Senate? Do they have a shot at the House. And let me ask you because we've heard famously of some Republicans who are considering crossing over to vote for Hillary Clinton. However, I doubt if they're going to continue to vote for Democrats all the way down the ticket.

So what do you think is really likely to come out of this in the House and Senate? TARYN ROSENKRANZ, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Yes, I think there's four key battleground states where there's Senate races and where polling you know is really going to be reflective of what we need to see if they can take back the Senate.

I think Democrats have a great change to both take back the Senate and even the House. I think that in elections like there where things are a little bit unpredictable it's going to work in the favor of Democrats and we could see a real wave towards them as a reaction to what's been happening.

[13:35:00]

ROSENKRANZ: I think what we will also need to see is how these folks that are down ballot are reacting to Trump. I mean if you remember correctly we saw a lot of this in 2014 where there was criticism of Democrats who kind of tried to run from the President and they weren't being true to themselves. I that we're really going to want to see is how these folks embrace him or run from him and how the voter reacts to that if they're going to have the split ticket when they go into the voting booth.

SAVIDGE: John, the opposite could be true though here. I mean there could be such a strong -- say Republicans that have considered staying home because they didn't like the idea of voting for Trump could now be motivated because they're worried about other issues and other candidates that they would actually come out strongly now in the polls.

PHILLIPS: Yes. I mean there's certainly that possibility. And look, Hillary Clinton isn't lighting it up either. In the three polls that were released on Friday, she was at 41%, 41% and 39%. That's pathetic.

SAVIDGE: OK. Let me go on and ask you about you know these prominent Republicans that have come out and signed on to this letter that you know they're basically saying look -

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: "We believe that Donald Trump's divisiveness, recklessness, incompetence, and record breaking unpopularity risk turning this election into a Democratic landslide."

SAVIDGE: OK, that' that's rhetoric. But this part's important. "The only immediate shift of all available resources..." this is what they're suggesting, "...be sent over to those vulnerable Senate and House races."

I mean that's an incredible demand or request to make. Take the money you're spending on Trump and let's put it to these kind of congressional races because we're in trouble. Is that what that says?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well good luck with that because Trump's the guy raising the money right now for the RNC. So if you stop spending the money on him, then you're going to stop having the money run in from all of the solicitations he's making on behalf of the RNC.

They're not going to do that because if they cut off the nominee as we get closer to the election, then it's going to sink his poll numbers and that's going to bring everyone down with it. You can only run so far ahead of the top of the ticket. So they need to stabilize the numbers. The numbers are getting better. That needs to be the focus, keeping him on message, making sure there aren't any more gaffes or feuds with people other than Hillary Clinton. If they can do that, then these guys will be fine.

SAVIDGE: OK, and Taryn, you know we know that Hillary Clinton, the campaign has been spending big on advertising. I certainly saw that in Florida television wise. And I'm wondering if Trump turns his money and attention to those key battleground states, he still has time to make a significant impact.

ROSENKRANZ: He does. Although early voting in some of these key battlegrounds actually starts in less than a month. So his nose dive right now in the polls it's going to be quick for them to have to do something pretty drastic to kind of you know get out of this stale spin.

So you know the amount of money that kind of comes in from these outside groups we haven't really talked about the super pacs and the outside groups. If they start focusing more on the down-ballot res you know and away from him, what impact does that have? I mean I think these voter turnout models are going to be pretty unpredictable this go around for a variety of reasons, both at the top of the ticket and all of the way down the ballot. So those resources are going to be needed right there for turnout.

SAVIDGE: And John, we've seen a change again in the Trump campaign this week. Moving forward do you expect that he is going to be more on a teleprompter or going back to what many people did like, which was his shoot from the hip kind of strategy?

PHILLIPS: Well I don't know if he's going to be on teleprompter but he needs to be on message. There's only one person that he should be feuding with --

SAVIDGE: But he doesn't do that. He routinely steps on his own --

PHILLIPS: -- There's only one person that he should be talking about and that's Hillary Clinton. Well I mean look, the guy is a nonpolitician. That's part of his appeal, that's part of why he won the primary. He ran against a field of 17 or 16 other people who were professional politicians. They lost. So right now we have an electorate that is upset with the direction of the country, 69% of the people don't like the direction that we're going in. So I think there's certain allowances that people make to an outsider who doesn't play by the same rules as everyone else.

SAVIDGE: Taryn Rosenkrantz, John Phillips, thank you again for joining us.

ROSENKRANZ : Thank you. PHILLIPS: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: Staying with politics, moments ago Donald Trump wrapped up a round table with his national Hispanic advisory council, that was in New York City. And in that meeting he was asked about his trip yesterday to the flood zones in Louisiana. Here's some of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It was absolutely (inaudible) - they really -- they're amazing people with tremendous spirit. The spirit is unbelievable.

SAVIDGE: Up next we're going to take you to the ground and get you right into the waters to find out the very latest on the Red Cross and what they are now deeming the worst disaster since super storm Sandy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:43:05]

SAVIDGE: As if losing all of your belongings isn't enough this detail now coming out of Southern Louisiana after the devastating flooding is so difficult now to take in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Just like we saw during hurricane Katrina, the torrential rain is so powerful that they have uprooted cemeteries. You can see caskets floating in the flood waters. Family members now left to figure out what to do with the loved one they lost a long time ago and in some cases they can't recover them now.

Polo Sandoval joins me from Ascension Parish, and Polo, we've commented on this a couple of times. It's good to see the sun is out I presume that means some drying can continue. But by no means does it mean the worst is over?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely not Martin especially for those who are still waiting to go into their homes. Yes there are some whose neighborhoods have begun to dry out. So that is an opportunity for them to go into their home and basically remove all of the debris, all of the damaged material from inside and begin that very long process of recovery and rebuilding.

But then there are those whose homes still look kind of like this here in this neighborhood in Southern Louisiana. There is one woman in particular who we met on this very spot just about an hour ago, Ms. Ellie Steven. She raised her family, her five children in that light colored home just to the right of the blue one that you're able to see off in the distance. She has worked extremely hard to keep a smile on her face the last five days, that is until she came here a little while ago and she was met with the reality that she still can't go into her home.

Emotionally, though Ellie how is it being so close and not able to go? How is that for you?

ELLIE STEVEN, LOUISIANA RESIDENT: That's what I didn't want to do. It's going to be OK. It's going to be OK. Yes, that's what I said. If I go back today, I know I might have cried but you know it's going to be OK.

[13:45:12]

SANDOVAL: It's going to be OK. That is something that people continue to remind themselves about in this part of Louisiana. Some good news, though, at least for Ms. Ellie, the water level right now in her neighborhood, right about here when we first came here a couple of hours ago, the water level mark was actually at about this particular point here. So yes the road is slowly beginning to dry out. She will soon have an opportunity to make her way to her home. But Martin the reality is she has absolutely no idea what if anything is still salvageable in her home.

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SAVIDGE: Right. And so many people there are without flood insurance. Polo Sandoval. Thank you very much.

To find out how you can help victims of the Louisiana flooding, go to cnn.com/impact. And this reminder, tomorrow on "State of the Union" Louisiana Governor John Bell Edwards will join Jake Tapper to discuss this historic flooding and the nation's response and then what's ahead as that state beginning to rebuild. That interview 9:00 a.m. eastern right here on CNN.

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SAVIDGE: As questions swirl over Ryan Lochte's future, the IOC has announced that it's set up a disciplinary commission to investigate the swimmer and his teammates about their actions in Rio. That's next.

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[13:50:00]

SAVIDGE: It remains to be seen what will happen to U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, but eventually, sources with knowledge of the investigation tell CNN that he will be suspended over his behavior at a gas station in Rio.

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SAVIDGE: The International Olympic Committee has set up a disciplinary commission to investigate Lochte and the three other swimmers that were with him last Sunday. They'll consider whether or not the swimmers will face any kind of punishment. Brynn Gingras joins me now from Charlotte, North Carolina, and I

recognize exactly where you are. It's where I was yesterday. So Brynn, you know what are the other teammates saying about all of this?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, at this point, Martin, we're just getting apologies and not even from all of the teammates, just one more in addition to Lochte, and that's Gunnar Bentz. He released a very long statement yesterday and it was long in the fact that it gave a detailed account of what he says he gave Rio officials.

Remember he's one of the swimmers that was taken off that plane that was headed to the U.S. by Rio officials. And again, he gives a play by play of what he says happened that night at the robbery.

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GINGRAS: He said Rio officials treated him as a witness, not a suspect in the case. And in that statement, he really points a lot to Ryan Lochte Martin. Kind of saying that Ryan was the one who had -- did some vandalizing at that gas station. He tore up a sign. And he also says he's the one who had a confrontation with one of those security guards. I want to read you part of the statement where it alludes to that. And he says "I cannot speak to his actions but Ryan stood up and began to yell at the guards. After Jack and I both tugged at him in an attempt to get him to sit back down, Ryan and the security guards had a heated verbal exchange but no physical contact was made."

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Now remember, let's go back a little bit. Ryan said that there was contact with the gun. They were robbed. So certainly, this is differing accounts, as we have been seeing since this incident happened a week ago, but it's unclear exactly who is telling the truth at this point. But that's all we're getting right now are apologies.

SAVIDGE: Right, we're getting apologies and these statements and I'm wondering does what they say even matter at this point? Isn't the damage already done?

GINGRAS: Well, you would think so. You now you can't turn back the clock. Especially on a situation like this that has gained international attention. And that's what remains to be seen. What sort of disciplinary action will these guys face if any.

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GINGRAS: We're not talking about the IOC alone. We're talking about the U.S. Olympic committee, USA Swimming. Each of these entities is investigating exactly what went down at that gas station separately and many of them looking at their own individual code of conducts and seeing if disciplinary action needs to be taken not just against Ryan but against all four men Martin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: All right, we'll see. Brynn Gingras, nice to see you, thank you very much for joining us.

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SAVIDGE: Coming up, a 3-year-old's birthday party, it goes awry. Until the police step in. How a group of officers went beyond the call, next.

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[13:56:39]

SAVIDGE: Before the break, you might have heard me mention that I was up in Charlotte covering swimmers behaving badly. But in the early part of the week, Monday, I was in Oklahoma covering police and something amazing they did for a 3-year-old boy. There is nothing more important than a big birthday party, but when the party plans for one little Oklahoma boy with autism began to fall apart, a group of local police stepped in and went way beyond the call.

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SAVIDGE: It began with an anonymous phone call to the police in Yukon, Oklahoma. Saying something was wrong inside this home.

LT CURTIS LEMMINGS, YUKON, OKLAHOMA POLICE DEPARTMENT: So I drive by. Sort of canvassing the area.

SAVIDGE: Things look okay, but just in case, Captain Matt Hofer approaches alone. A young woman answers.

CAPT MATT HOFER, YUKON, OKLAHOMA POLICE DEPARTMENT: And she has that look of oh, my (lanta). The police are at my front door.

SAVIDGE: Tara Hubbard is already having a really bad day. Plans for her son's birthday party are falling apart as parent after parent calls to say their child isn't coming.

TARA HUBBARD, BRAYDEN'S MOM: I mean, I would get, oh, I can't come. Oh, this just came up. Oh, this and this and this and this.

SAVIDGE: Tara believes it's because they feel uncomfortable around her 3-year-old son, Brayden, who has autism. And now, the police are at Tara's door. But Officer's Hofer's words change everything.

HOFER: I heard that there was a birthday party for Braden today. And she says, she starts to smile. She says, yes. And I asked her if we could participate.

HUBBARD: And I was just speechless. Speechless. Nothing would come out.

SAVIDGE: Yukon's finest had come to get this party started, and more kept arriving.

LT ZACH ROBERSON, YUKON, OKLAHOMA POLICE DEPARTMENT: We all went over there and we doubled the party.

SAVIDGE: They lined the street with their cars. What were the neighbors thinking.

ROBERSON: Oh, they were driving by really slow and staring at us.

SAVIDGE: Braden's party went from zero to heroes.

HUBBARD: Just to see them interact like that is truly, truly amazing.

SAVIDGE: And for mom, the timing couldn't have been better.

HUBBARD: Yes, It's been a really tough time. You know, you get backed into a wall, like, what else do you do? What else do you do? And any autistic mother or special needs parents know that feeling.

SAVIDGE: Yukon's finest saved the party and the day while proving police officers cannot only answer the call but occasionally also a prayer.

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SAVIDGE: I love being able to tell that story. We have much more just ahead in the Newsroom, including a conversation with Dr. Ben Carson and it will all start right now.

Hello, thanks for joining me. I'm Martin Savidge in for Fredricka Whitfield.

Donald Trump pivots and is renewing his efforts to reach out to minorities.

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SAVIDGE: Moments ago at Trump Tower, the Republican candidate wrapped up a meeting with the National Hispanic Advisers and the RNC. This comes on the heels of his speech last night where he made an unconventional kind of plea for black voters. Later today, Trump will continue his campaigning in Fredericksburg, Virginia. And that's where we find CNN's Kristen Holmes. And Kristen, what can you tell us about today's meeting with the Hispanic advisers and Trump?